A Yu Suzuki (Space Harrier, Hang-On, After Burner, OutRun, Virtua Fighter, Shenmue, and more) directed rail shooter fever dream filled with a surprising number of unlockables, and powered by ethereal prog rock opera from Dutch multi-instrumentalist Valensia.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3091680244

• Rail shooter fans
  
• Valensia fans (or fans of Queen-like melodramatic, theatrical rock opera more broadly)
  
• Anyone who thinks they'd enjoy an easy to pick up, tough to master rail shooter that's on the easier end of the difficulty spectrum
  
• Anyone who enjoys replaying brief arcade games to secure unlockables

• Those wanting something closer to Space Harrier (this game is much slower paced)
  
• Anyone wanting more arcadey music, or who Valensia doesn't click with
  
• Anyone wanting a super lengthy, deep game
  
• Anyone wanting an incredibly difficult game
  
• Anyone wanting extremely high end visual fidelity
  
• Those who demand the ability to quit mid-game and continue later (unlockables do save)

• Easy to pick up and play, tough to master, especially the unlockable challenges
  
• Lots of unlockables
  
• Compendium of songs, cutscenes, enemies, characters, lore, etc.
  
• A fun, simple storyline rooted in high fantasy world building that seems at least partly inspired by Valensia's music
  
• Unlockables extremely well paced
  
• Unlockable challenges are actually fairly difficult, in contrast to the main game
  
• Absolutely over the top, elaborate, beautiful soundtrack by Valensia, which I'll write more about in my general thoughts
  
• Fantastical visual design. Looks contemporary yet also like a throwback to 90s or early 2000s cgi
  
• Controller support, and can also optionally use the mouse to independently move and aim
  
• Fun Star-Fox-esque boss battles
  
• Support for high resolutions and Hz. (However, see cons)

• Full Screen resolution is locked to your desktop resolution. No DRS or res settings unless in Windowed.
  
• No stage select or continuing from part way through the campaign (you can unlock the ability to start from later into the game, though.)
  
• At times difficult to see everything on screen due to how busy some stages get
  
• Fairly brief and on the easy side for the price. Unlocked all modes and items in 12 hours
  
• If you aren't a fan of Valensia's tracks, they may annoy. The songs also repeat a lot
  
• No leaderboards

I've been having a ton of fun with Air Twister. This is a delightful, breezy rail shooter that doesn't overstay its welcome, and is easy to pick up.

Originally an Apple Arcade exclusive title, it's now available widely on numerous platforms. You control a protagonist named Princess Arch in a battle for the survival of a "bubble dimension" being invaded by "needles" threatening to destroy their world. In practice this means: shoot everything that moves while not getting hit.

As a holdover from its previously mobile roots, you can strafe in front of enemies which highlights them with lock-on targeting that your shots track. It makes the game incredibly intuitive to play at its core, but tough to master as the number of enemies ramp up and require you to time your shots while dodging incoming fire and barriers.

Later you can unlock weapons with different attack characteristics. And as an additional alternative, you can instead control Arch separately from an aiming cursor via the mouse. This removes the aforementioned lock-on attacks, but retains the special attacks unlockable weapons offer, and allows greater precision and evasion. It actually makes certain segments so much easier, that it feels akin to cheating at times.

You get a couple of continues in the main game, after which it's game over. Defeating enemies earns stars, and bonus stars are rewarded for time, taking no damage, etc. Stars can be spent as currency on a world map which unlocks everything from additional HP, to new weapons, to a huge laundry list of cosmetics allowing you to adjust Arch's appearance, to additional challenge modes, to protective equipment.

It's the kind of game we don't see very often today. Incredibly simple and pure in its arcade roots, and authentic given its pedigree even despite originally being a mobile game. While also being packed with a ton of unlockable content to keep you playing if it clicks with you.

On that note, as mentioned in the PROS section above, the pace of unlocks is actually great. And as you unlock better weapons and can get through campaign runs faster, the rate at which you accumulate stars to unlock more also accelerates.

The optional daily, weekly, and timed rewards in the "events" section throw additional unlocks at you constantly, too. After almost every run, the exclamation point icon denoting something new having unlocked appears on multiple menus. The continuous dopamine hit is real.

Just when it began to feel like a grind, I unlocked the ability to start the campaign from its midway point. And not long after that, the option to play only its final three levels. Since every completed run gives you 500 stars, this becomes a quick "end game" way to grind for the last world map nodes you didn't have yet. It really is expertly paced.

There are a number of unlockable challenge modes. From somewhat idiosyncratic mini-games that I could honestly take or leave, to a classic arcade mode (including a single hit 1CC challenge that I'll probably never beat,) to Turbo Mode, which runs at 2x speed and feels a lot more like classic Space Harrier.

By far my favorite thing about the game though is how its soundtrack feeds into its vibe and setting. Valensia isn't going to be everyone's thing. He basically sounds like an intentional Queen homage most of the time, but he does it so well, and it's so theatrical, that I've found myself becoming a fan. And it's how the music works hand-in-hand with Suzuki's vision, and the whimsy and fantasy of it all, that really click with my tastes.

Yu reportedly used to listen to Valensia while working on his games. Valensia has a long discography filled with references to swans, epic rock opera ballads about humanity's relationship to nature, mythology, science fiction, and everything else you can think of.

Every song is seemingly a Bohemian Rhapsody level of theater, and they own that. It verges on humor, but remains earnest. And Yu seems to have taken inspiration for much of the game's own heightened, fever dream-like fantasy setting from them. Valensia in turn has composed several new songs for the game that fully commit to the premise, no matter how heightened.

My favorite is called Princess Mystique. A harmonic rock epic seemingly about the game's giant swan mount. In-game the swan is named Garnet, but the song describes a swan called Princess Cygnini Mystique. (Cygnus being a word for swans.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0ULdvb9QRM

"My cygnet's so strong, she's a pen and a mute swan
With 8 meter wingspan she's carrying me over the falls
One beak a bow and weaponry
'til we meet again
Princess Mystique
Save me please, baby
Beat the unleashed enemies
Cygnini Mystique"

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3091623417

A bit cheesy, but at the same time is a genuinely infectious ear worm of a song perfectly suited to the game's equally surreal fantasy setting. A dreamy trip through something that feels like it could've been at home on the Sega Dreamcast.

All in all, a fun ride to zone out to, with greater optional challenges for those hungry for more, and a ton of unlockables. Recommended (with the above caveats) for fans of the genre.